Frequently Asked Questions

E-6 – processed once a week on a Tuesday afternoon. All film must be in by Monday afternoon and can be expected the day after processing

* Turn-around times may vary depending on the volume of jobs in the lab. When your film is with us, ready to be processed, you will receive an email with payment details and an exact time you can expect your scans to be delivered by.

Printing:

Photographic prints – fulfilled the same day or next working day

Fine art prints – these can take anywhere from 3-7 working days to be completed depending on quantity and paper stock selected

If you require a rushed job, please contact us to find out more about our rush services and fees.

How do I use your film processing services?

To get your film to us you have a few options; either drop it off to one of our handy drop off locations, send it to us via mail, or come and hand it to us personally in store! For further information on how you can get your film to us, head over to the Drop and Send page.

How often do you do pick up from your drop-off locations?

We pick up from our drop off points according to their opening hours!

Vixen – 5:45pm approx. – Mon – Fri

Progear – 5:00pm approx. – Mon – Fri

Checks Downtown – 5:50pm approx. – Mon – Wed – Fri

Snapshot Photographics – 12:00pm approx. Every Thursday

How will I know you have got my film?

Once your film arrives safely in-store we will let you know via email, within which we will also provide information on how to complete your payment, and when you can expect to have your scans/negatives delivered back to you.

Printing

I want prints but I have no idea about printing services…help?

There are many different options when it comes to printing your work, but that’s why we are here to help you through it! To give you all the answers and information, the best thing to do is come and see us in store so we can sit together and discuss your options. By understanding the purpose of your prints we can work out the best service for you, ensuring that together we can achieve your desired outcome.

How does it cost to print my work?

There are a few variables when it comes to printing; for example, quantity, size, and paper stock. These are all taken into account when working out the cost of a print job. Take a look at our Photographic Printing page, as well as our Fine Art Printing page, for more information about services and their costs.

Can I see samples of your papers?

Most certainly! Head onto our store page and order yourself a sample print pack. This pack consists of both colour and black & white prints on our photographic paper and fine art stocks, and a complete guide on the paper characteristics, allowing you to make the most informed paper decision possible.

Can you do test prints?

We sure can! We can do them at A4/8” x 12”, 6” x 24” and 6” x 44”. Contact us to get a test print done.

How do I order prints?

For photographic prints, you can order right here on our website! Simply head over to our printing portal and follow the simple instructions.
If it’s our fine art printing services you’re after flick us an email at [email protected] or call us on (09) 525 0289 so we can run you through the process.

What colour space do you use?

We use sRGB for all of our printing as this has the closest gamut to photographic paper.

Why are the colours in my prints different to the colours I see on my computer?

A colour shift from computer screen to prints usually indicates that your monitor is not calibrated correctly, and often you don’t realize this until it’s too late! As photographers ourselves we understand how important colour is; we want our digital images to be replicated exactly the same on paper. Part of our goal is to educate, and demystify the world of colour! Perhaps the most important difference between digital and physical image is that a computer screen is backlit, while a print is viewed with reflected light. This means that generally, prints will come out darker than what you see on your monitor. To ensure you’re always seeing your images how we are, we’re more than happy to assist you in calibrating your monitor; just come along and see us in store so we can provide you with our x-rite calibration system. If you don’t want to calibrate your monitor, consulting with us and viewing your photos on our screens in-store is the best way to ensure your photos come out how just as you envision they will.

Processing

Can you push/pull film?

Absolutely! Pushing/pulling is an extra $1 per stop pushed or pulled.

What is pushing/pulling, and what will it do for my film?

Pushing and pulling is the term used for over-developing (pushing) or under-developing (pulling) film when it has been incorrectly exposed or shot at a different ISO to the box speed. To find out more about pushing or pulling and if it could help you, check out our in-depth blog post.

What types of film can you develop?

We can develop all of the following types of film:

C-41 B&W E-6

35mm 35mm 35mm

120 120 120

220 220 220

Once my film has been processed what happens to my negatives?

You’ve got a few options on how you can get your negatives back.

Pick up (FREE): To collect your negatives feel free to pop in-store and pick them up, free of charge.

Courier ($6.00): If you’re too busy to pick up your negs we are happy to send them back via NZ Post’s tracked Overnight Courier service. Negatives will be flat packed for their protection and be back with you before you know it.

Negative Archival Service: If you’re not too fussed about getting your negs back straight away we are more than happy to keep them safe for you in our archives. We can keep your negs stored with us for a maximum of one year, after which we will contact you to discuss retrieval via pick up or courier.

What B&W developer do you use?

Our go-to B&W developer is Kodak XTOL, as we have found this gives our customers the best results. We understand some photographers may prefer D-76, Rodinal, HC-110, Michrophen etc., so if you have a developer preference don’t hesitate to flick us an email at [email protected] and we can cater to your needs.

Scanning

What scan size should I select?

The scan size you will need depends on what you will be using the photographs for!

Big Scans:

This resolution (approximately 3600 x 2400px) is perfect for when you need a resolution boost for things such as medium professional prints, design work or just for general, professional purpose. These scans exceed the screen resolution needed for high-quality work posting on social media or websites. Capable of printing in perfect quality in A4 and beyond.

Bigger Scans:

This resolution (approximately 5444 x 3649px) is perfect for professional projects/commercial work where you demand the maximum amount of detail out of your images. Produces exceptional quality print work for exhibitions and larger scale prints up to A1 and A2 in size, and is capable of being pushed even slightly beyond.

Size approximations above will change depending on the film format. If you need scans even bigger than ‘Bigger’, contact us directly about our drum scanning services.

What scanner do you use?

We use a Fuji Frontier SP 3000. This is a state of the art film scanner that renders beautiful tones, dynamic range and has inbuilt infrared dust removal technology.

I’ve got some scanning preferences, can you take these into account when scanning my negatives?

We sure can! Simply indicate your desired preferences in the ‘Scanning Preferences’ section on the order form, and from here we can tailor our scanning service just for you!
If you’re going for a particular look for your images you are more than welcome to contact us with some reference images which we can use while scanning. For any further information you would like to tell us about your film or your order please drop us a line in the order form’s comment section.

How will my scans be delivered?

All scans are delivered via file sharing service WeTransfer. Once your photos are scanned and ready to go you will receive a WeTransfer link where you can download all of your files – but be quick; this link is only valid for 1 week! If for some reason you have not received your link within 24 hours of the due date, check your spam folder and contact us immediately. Any scans that have not been downloaded within the 1 week download period will incur a $10 re-upload fee. Upon request an alternative service to WeTransfer such as Dropbox can be used – please let us know on your order form if you would prefer this.

Do you scan XPan/ Panoramic and half-frame film?

We do! See our Pricelist for more information on processing these formats.

What format will my files be delivered in? What if I need really large files?

Like most labs, we deliver all of our scans as JPEGs. Our Fuji Frontier does this beautifully, and find there is actually a very minimal difference in quality between JPEG and TIFF, unless you are needing it especially for special circumstances. If you would like to receive your files as TIFFs, please flick us an email at [email protected] so we can work something out for you.

Drum Scanning

What is so great about a drum scan compared to the Noritsu and Frontier files?

Neither one of these scanners is better than the other however this awesome blog post will explain some of the differences and why you would opt for one over the other

Can I get the borders/film rebate in with the scan?

Yes you sure can! Just be sure to let us know before you start scanning that you would like this

How do I receive my drums scans?

You will receive drum scans the same as other scans. If you would prefer a USB due to the large file size let us know and we can arrange for that

Dust Spotting

We use Dust Off compressed air and Ilford anti-static film clothes to clean your film before scanning. And the utmost amount of care is taken during this process. When you receive your scans you may notice that there is still dust on the scans. This is unfortunately the nature of these high resolution scans as digital dust removal technology is not applied like our other scanning processes. We recommend you open the file in Photoshop and use the Spot Healing Brush to remove dust or scratches. If this is not something you are wanting to do yourself then let us know and this is a service we are more than happy to do for you

How do I get the frames to you

The Frames can be dropped off to any of the drop off points listed here, and they are collected from

Framing

What’s your turn around time?

Custom framing takes anywhere between 5-10 working days depending on volume at the time. Contact us ahead of time for an accurate answer

A style I was after isn’t stocked on your website! Help??

If you are looking for a moulding different to what is stocked on our site just flick us an email on our contact page and we can see if we can get it in stock